Category: Story

[WPS] With a week to go before the Women’s Professional League’s draft of college players, to be held Jan. 16 at the NSCAA Convention in St. Louis, only four foreign players whose negotiating rights were obtained by WPS teams have signed to play in the 2009 season, but women’s soccer brightest star, Marta, is expected to sign with the Los Angeles Sol, perhaps as soon as Monday when the FIFA Women’s Player of the Year is announced in Zurich.

[INTERLIGA] Morelia cranked up its wheezing attack just in time to earn a spot in the Interliga finals by beating group winner Pachuca and getting some help from Toluca to edge through in second place. The final day of play in Group A at Home Depot Center Thursday produced a pair of attacking displays from teams desperately needing goals to advance. Morelia beat Pachuca, 3-0, and wound up in second place when Toluca knocked off UAG, 2-0, to eliminate the Tecos from advancing, which they would have done with a win.

[MLS] If so many MLS coaches spend so much of their time scouting college players, why do they all show up at the MLS Combine, which begins Saturday in Fort Lauderdale? Well, every year, a Chris Rolfe (University of Dayton) or Geoff Cameron (Rhode Island) is on display and turns out to be pretty good. There might be a junior college kid (Pasadena CC) like current Kansas City Wizard forward Yura Movsisyan, and there will certainly be a slew of seniors who’ve played for top-notch programs like Maryland, Indiana, Wake Forest, UCLA, etc. Even if you’ve seen a team play a game or two, you can’t always get a good read on everybody.

Former FC Dallas designated failure Denilson, 31, is to have a trial with Bolton Wanderers. The player is a free agent (again) after being released by Brazilian club Palmeiras.

“I like [David] Beckham a lot and I’m glad he’s chosen to play in our league. But let’s hope [Milan coach] Carlo Ancelotti fields all his big-name players together. I honestly think that could be an advantage for us as the team would be unbalanced.” Roma’s Francesco Totti looks forward to this coming weekend’s Roma-Milan […]

I have long been a fan of “The Family Circus” comic strip. Perhaps my favorite strip of all time features the family dog barking up a storm in the middle of the night. Dad, irritated that he’s been awakened from a much-needed sleep, clomps down the stairs to yell at Barfy, who dutifully hangs his head. Dad climbs back up the stairs while the cartoonist has a surprise for us. He pans back so we see in the far corner of the yard a burglar retreating.

[U.S. YOUTH NATIONAL TEAMS] New U.S. under-18 men’s national team coach Mike Matkovich is taking 18 players to Sydney, Australia, where they will compete in the Australian Youth Olympic Festival. For the complete U-18 roster …

[SIGN OF THE TIMES] England’s Football Association is cutting ticket prices by as much as 25 percent for upcoming home matches against Slovakia (March 28), Ukraine (April 1) and Andorra (June 10) at Wembley Stadium.

[U.S. SOCCER] Coach Bob Bradley has welcomed San Jose defender Jason Hernandez and Colorado defender Ugo Ihemelu into the team’s Southern California training camp to replace Clarence Goodson and Cory Gibbs.

“We have to overcome a series of obstacles before advancing to the World Cup. I expect climbing Mount Halla will help players endure tough times ahead.”

— South Korea coach Huh Jung-moo is having his squad climb to the peak of Mount Halla in hopes it will inspire them to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. A 5.5 mile trail leads to the summit. (Donga-A Ilbo)

[AMERICANS ABROAD] Freddy Adu, who has played only 100 minutes in nine French First Division appearances since joining Monaco last summer, started against Juventus and helped set up a goal.

[ENGLAND] Manchester United brought on Cristiano Ronaldo late in the game and he almost scored on a free kick, but Man U fell, 1-0, to second division struggler Derby in their League Cup semifinal first-leg clash.